Official Site: www.LowBPdrugFree.com - The Secret to Natural Blood Pressure Control. 12 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally Without Drugs. Plus, learn more about The Breathtaking Nature Method, a clinically proven, drug-free way to reduce hypertension on our channel LowBPdrugFree, and at: LowerBloodPressureDrugFree.com.

If you have high blood pressure you have probably been told by your doctor that you will have to take medicines to control it. That is not completely true, you can try alternatives to lower high pressure naturally. In this article we will take a look at some of the natural ways you can lower your blood pressure. One thing to remember is to make sure and carefully monitor your pressure readings if you do suffer from high pressure because this condition can be fatal, it can lead to strokes, heart failure, kidney problems and other blood related problems in the body.

One of the best ways to lower pressure if you are overweight is to lose a few pounds. You can have high blood pressure and be thin but if you are overweight and have high pressure you will have a better chance of lowering it if you exercise and start to eat a healthy diet.

Another way to lower high blood pressure is to eat certain foods that have been proven to be beneficial in lowering pressure. One such food is celery it is a natural diuretic, this means it will help flush out excess fluids and salts in your body. It is natural so has no bad side effects like some of the prescription diuretics that are available.

Another common food that helps lower pressure is garlic. It helps lower the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening or furring within arteries, caused by excess plaques in the arteries. The garlic works by keeping the blood at the correct thickness and helping the blood circulatory system stay healthy.

The hawthorn plant has also been found to help lower high blood pressure. It is usually taken in capsule form and works by helping strengthen the heart muscle.

Other ways you can lower pressure are by changing your diet to low salt foods, cut out ready meals, junk food and fast foods. Prepare your own meals and start to eat more healthy foods, fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

Drinking more water is also good for lowering high blood pressure. Some people who have tried water fasts for 7 days have seen blood pressure drop as much as 60 points. Although this is not something to do lightly as 7 days with only water is not easy and may not be healthy, if you are considering this you should consult your doctor.

There are also natural mineral supplements you can take to lower high blood pressure. Magnesium or potassium are just a couple of examples both can help support the heart and nervous system. You would probably have to take them as supplement pills to get a high enough daily intake for these minerals to do any good.

As you can see there are quite a few natural things you can do to lower your blood pressure and with a bit of help and support from your doctor you should not have to be dependent on medications for the rest of your life. Discuss with your doctor other alternatives to medications and get him to help you research the alternatives to daily medication.

It is becoming increasingly apparent among healthcare professionals and researchers in the field of hypertension, that the traditional practice of relying on arbitrary blood pressure measurements obtained in the clinic or a doctor's office setting, is not representative of one's true pressure within the arteries and is not a reliable predictor of the risk of damage to the blood vessels and related organs, known as target organ damage, caused by the elevated pressure. This is partly due to the fact that the traditional approach has been to perform arbitrary reading once per month or even once every 3 months in a doctor's office or clinic, which is too small a number of readings to be representative of one's arterial pressure on a whole.

There are also many factors that can affect one's arterial pressure reading in a doctor's office that are not operative outside of the doctor's office. One illustration of this is the white-coat hypertension, a phenomenon in which a patient's pressure is high in the doctor's office but not elevated when measured outside of the doctor's office, particularly at home. Conversely, there is another group of patients, usually younger patients, who tend have normal readings in the doctor's office but elevated readings outside of the doctor's office. This is known as masked hypertension. It is estimated that 12 million people exhibit white coat hypertension and 20 million people have masked hypertension. This is important because, although doctors generally follow patients that have white coat hypertension, they don't usually treat the condition since arterial pressure is normal outside the office. On the other hand people with masked hypertension normally would not be treated because of normal readings in the doctor's office, but obviously need to be treated since their arterial pressure is elevated outside of the doctor's office which is where they spend most of their time.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring with a machine which is worn on the arm and connected to a box worn on the belt that records reading every 15-30 minutes for the 24 hour period is considered to be most representative of one's true arterial pressure and risk for vessel and related organ damage, but because of the expense of these machines measuring readings several times per day with wrist and cuff machines is an acceptable alternative. Although many of the monitoring-machine manufactures recommend performing readings at the same time each day and waiting at least five minutes in between readings if multiple readings are taking, experts in the field of hypertension recommend performing three readings in rapid succession in the morning and three readings in rapid succession at night and don't necessarily restrict the timing of the readings. The multiplicity of readings allows calculation of an average reading and recognition of significant variability of readings in some individuals. Variation in the timing of readings allows one to determine the effect that variable such as exercise, watching television, or consuming caffeine or alcohol has on readings.

In addition to increasing the diagnosis of hypertension, the data obtained from home monitoring can better enable doctors and other healthcare professionals make more rational and appropriate treatment decisions to improve blood pressure control. For example, if a patient is taking anti-hypertensive medication once daily at 8:00 AM but readings are consistently higher than target between 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM but normal at other times and perhaps somewhat low at night, it might be indicative of the fact that most of the medication has cleared the body two to three hours prior to the next scheduled dose, in which case the doctor might decide that night-time dosing or twice daily dosing is more appropriate.

For healthcare professionals to make optimal use of one's home monitoring endeavors the data must be presented to them in an organized and interpretable format. Although charts with hand-written data indicating the date, time and readings are generally acceptable, an ideal format would be have the charted information printed out from computer-generated entries with graphs generated based on the charted data. This is all performed by the ambulatory blood pressure monitors, but again, they are fairly expensive (ranging from $500.00 - $2,000.00). A very workable alternative however, is to use a desktop-based or Internet-based blood pressure tracker program which allows the manual input of data from the home monitor. The blood pressure tracker program saves the charted data and generates a time graph which can be presented to one's doctor at the time of an office visit or transmitted via the Internet prior to a visit. Microsoft provides a free Internet-based program known as Microsoft Healthvault Beta at the time of the writing of this article. Another free program which I highly recommend is a desktop application, Blood Pressure Tracker by SoundTells - Software for Health. In addition performing all of the aforementioned functions, it affords greater privacy because it is not Internet-based.

In summary, home blood pressure monitoring is more representative of one's true arterial pressure because several readings at different times of the day can be taken. Because of the multiplicity of readings, home monitoring is a better predictor of risk of target organ damage caused by elevated pressure. The frequency of readings also allows healthcare professionals to observe trends and variables which affect one's blood pressure and thus make better and informed treatment decisions to improve control. Better control in principle should reduce the frequency of doctor's visits and target organ damage, both of which should curtail medical expenses.

Does anyone know what really causes high blood pressure? It is quite difficult to distinguish whether symptoms stem from high blood pressure or are just mere coincidences. Things are less simple for less obviously absurd cases.

Studies show many different kinds of secondary high blood pressure where the primary causes may be quite different from the continuing causes. An example is a rare disease known as coarctation of the aorta, a disease of the large artery carrying blood out of the heart. In this condition, the aorta is tightly constricted a few inches beyond its origin and then expands to its normal diameter. Undoubtedly, blood pressure must rise above the constriction and fall below it, just as it does when one compresses a hosepipe. Yet, if this constriction is removed surgically and the normal continuity of the aorta is restored, blood pressure usually takes several years to fall to normal level. The initial case of high blood pressure is the constriction, but the continuing cause is probably complex changes in circulating hormones, which function to maintain blood flow through the kidneys despite the obstruction, which may persist for a long time even after the obstruction, has gone.

Aside from the genetic pathogenesis of the disease, there is profound evidence that there are several factors which are true and independent causes of high blood pressure. These factors are obesity, high sodium intake, low potassium intake and a high alcohol intake. The effect they have varies in most cases depending on heredity; they have a much greater effect on people whose families have an increased prevalence of high blood pressure than on people form families with mostly low blood pressure. This will happen sooner in young people and later in middle-aged and elderly people. Evidence of these causes is consistent and convincing. However, that does not eliminate the possibility of other causes present in some people, of which the most obvious and important are psychical, psychological and social stresses.

The theory that physical and psychological stress is the root cause of most high blood pressure was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but research since then has proved it not to be true. There may be a minority of people with high blood pressure, for whom it is the main cause, but it fails to explain most cases. Extensive studies have looked for an association between the so-called type A personality (people who are described as ambitious, aggressive and time-conserved) and high blood pressure, but none can be found. Instead, it was found that very nervous people have normal or even low blood pressure but many easygoing people have dangerously high blood pressures. On the other hand, there is a tendency for some people with depression to have raised blood pressures, falling when depression ends, either simultaneously or after treatment for depression. Obviously, there are many other good reasons for avoiding social and psychological stresses, regardless of any ill effects on blood pressure. Even if they are not directly causing high blood pressure, they inevitably affect your capacity to cope with treatment and you should make sure that your physician is aware of them.

There are millions of women around the world who are using birth control pills as an effective way of avoiding becoming pregnant. Also some women and young girls who take the birth control pill do so as a way to help with irregular periods or deal with other health problems they may have such as acne. But it is important that every woman understand the high blood pressure birth control pills connection to ensure they manage the potential dangers of hypertension.

First lets cover a little bit about birth control pills and how they work. The most commonly used birth control pills are made from a synthetic mixture of two hormones (estrogen and progesterone). However there is one particular type of birth control pill, which contains just the synthetic hormone progesterone and this is more commonly known as the mini pill.

The pill works by fooling the body into thinking it is pregnant and so suppressing the hormones that trigger ovulation. They also reduce the development of the uterus lining and increase the amount of mucous in the cervix, making it harder to sperm to navigate its way to its target.

The hormones in the contraceptive pill that do a great job at fooling the body, are also synthetic replicas of our own hormones, and are the ingredients that increase the risk of a women having high blood pressure.

The studies that have been carried out in the past have shown that contraceptive pills can elevate blood pressure levels, but since many of those studies the levels of hormones used in contraceptive pills have been reduced.

However, there is still a greater risk of hypertension in those that take contraceptive pills compared to their peers who don't, and so this is why a doctor will take certain precautions when prescribing them.

The level of increase in blood pressure of someone who takes the contraceptive pill can range from nothing/ mild, to severe with only a few factors that have been identified as potentially increasing the risk; these include:

- Having a family history of high blood pressure especially on the female side

- Having a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy

- Having a heart or blood vessel condition

Also, the risk of elevated blood pressure seems to increase with age, length of usage and body mass.

Continue reading to discover natural methods to relieve high blood pressure and sign up for our Free Newsletter.

When a women first decides to start taking a contraceptive pill she will usually have a baseline blood pressure reading taken. This is so if there are marked changes to the blood pressure levels they can be identified when future readings are taken. To be sure there are no adverse effects the doctor is likely to request a new user to revisit every few weeks to initially monitor any potential impacts on blood pressure.

When requesting a repeat prescription a doctor or nurse will again take blood pressure measurements to ensure there is no abnormality in blood pressure readings.

If blood pressure levels have risen then there are a few options available to the doctor, including;

- Allowing continuation with the contraceptive pill alongside close monitoring

- Discontinue the use of the contraceptive pill and try another contraceptive option

- Switch to another contraceptive pill and monitor the reaction.

Although there is a recognized High Blood Pressure Birth Control Pills link, there have been few recent studies that allow for an understanding of the complete risk. All that is known is that each person may react differently to taking contraceptive pills and close monitoring of blood pressure is required initially, followed by regular blood pressure checks throughout the course duration.

You know what they say about underdogs, they most often come out victorious. The same is true with the MicroLife blood pressure monitor. On the list of the world's best home monitoring devices, MicroLife hardly makes it to the top at all. And yet, it is still always there, ever-lingering, ever-improving, to match up to the features offered by the giants such as Omron and LifeSource.

A Hidden Gem?

Although MicroLife is not as popular as other big-name brands, it has been proven to produce results just as accurately as other devices out there. In fact, many of its Automatic Upper Arm models have received above average grades from the British Hypertension Society and pass the standards of the European Society of Hypertension. The German Hypertension Society also grants its recognition to several MicroLife models, including the Wrist devices-aside from the Upper Arm monitors, of course.

What Measuring Method Does MicroLife Use?

Most MicroLife hypertension monitoring home devices use the oscillometric method of measuring the rate of blood pressure. This means the monitor works by detecting the amplitude of oscillations caused by the blood as air pressure in the cuff is slowly released. This method is used in the Automatic, Semi-Automatic, and Wrist devices offered by MicroLife. There are also aneroid devices, composed of your good, ol' sphygmomanometer and a sturdy stethoscope. Aneroid devices work with the user detecting the Korotkoff sound, or the swooshing or pounding sound the blood makes when the pressure is released and it is allowed to flow out again.

Is It Recommended?

Generally, the MicroLife blood pressure monitor itself is considered an excellent device both by international standards organizations and consumers. However, there have been complaints regarding the software that accompanies each MicroLife device. The software was designed to record the user's blood pressure information to better help monitor heart health, but many users say the application is full of bugs and does not work in several Windows systems.

Did you know that most people can reduce blood pressure naturally? That's absolutely true! Many of the people who currently take daily medications to control their hypertension don't really need to be doing so.

I am not advocating going cold turkey. If you are currently taking medication on the instructions of your doctor you can't just stop taking them. But what you can do is to introduce steps to reduce blood pressure naturally to the point where you doctor will be able to give you the good news that you don't need to refill your prescription anymore.

And you can get to that point relatively quickly in most cases! Here are some tips to help you!

Get Snoring Help: If you snore loudly, you may suffer from sleep apnea. Sufferers from this condition have high levels of aldosterone which is a hormone known to cause hypertension.

Anybody For Tea? Did you know that some studies have shown that three cups of tea per day, like hibiscus tea, reduce blood pressure naturally to the same extent as some of the medications?

Walk It Off: Walking is a great way to help your heart to get more oxygen and to strengthen it so that it doesn't find it so difficult to circulate the blood. A good brisk walk every day will do wonders for your hypertension. Why not get a dog so you've got a great excuse to take that walk. Studies have also shown that pet ownership can be good for your pressure!

Dark Chocolate Delight: One of the ingredients is flavanol which help to make veins and arteries more flexible and thus help with circulation. Who says you can't indulge and reduce blood pressure naturally at the same time!

Deep Breaths: Stress hormones release an enzyme in the kidney which heightens pressure. Deep breathing exercises or meditation have been conclusively shown to significantly lower stress hormones.

Working Too Much? A University of California study showed that for some people a work week in excess of 40 hours raised pressure by more than 15% so watch those hours. Most important though is that your life shouldn't be all about work!

Mellow Music: Perhaps strange but true - 30 minutes of mellow music a day (I'm partial to Celtic music myself) can knock almost five points off your blood pressure scores!

Potassium Party: Fruits and vegetables high in potassium are an excellent strategy to reduce blood pressure naturally. You should aim for an intake (from natural sources) of up to 4,000mg per day.

Definitely Decaf: This is a hotly debated area. Many people say that caffeine does not directly impact blood pressure. However, it emphasizes the effects of stress, so switch to decaf if you are prone to stress.

So Long Sodium: For many people, sodium intake directly elevates blood pressure. But remember that the salt you pour on your food accounts for less than 20% of your salt intake. Read the labels and switch from processed foods.